Parishioners loyal to a Marine Park priest who was accused of sexually abusing two 13-year-old boys last week lashed out at a group of protestors outside his church on Sunday, with one of the flock spitting at the demonstrators and another telling them to stick the flyer they were handing out “up their [buttocks].”

Members of the New Jersey-based Road to Recovery, a group that says it helps victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergy members, came to the Good Sehpherd Church on Batchelder Street to “stand in solidarity” with teenagers who filed sex abuse charges against Msgr. Thomas Brady, the pastor emeritus of the church.

No punches were thrown, but parishioners argued openly with the protestors, which didn’t surprise it’s leader, who claimed that those who lashed out were angry, bitter and in denial because they had been overly indoctrinated by the church.

“They want to say their priest would never do such a thing, but they forget that two 13-year-old boys were involved,” said Rev. Robert Hoatson. “I don’t blame [the parishioners], I blame the brainwashing the church has done over the centuries.”

Police arrested Brady on Oct. 14, claiming that that Good Shepherd’s former spiritual leader had attempted a “criminal sex act” on two minors at two different times the day before.

Investigators say one of the attacks took place in the church rectory at 10:45 am Thursday morning. The victim said Brady, 77, allegedly made several lewd comments toward the teen. At one point, the former FDNY chaplain “offered to have sex” with the minor, cops said.

The victim’s father claims that Brady went further — the septuagenarian “put his hands down” his son’s pants and groped the teen, a student at Good Shepherd Parochial School.

The community may not: most parishioners quickly came to Brady’s defense, claiming that the aging priest — who suffered two strokes and is currently suffering from lung cancer — couldn’t have possibly done what the teen’s claim.

“[Brady’s] almost 80 and has had numerous strokes,” parishioner Pat Davis explained. “If he was in a nursing home, none of this would have happened. I guess anything is possible. But I doubt it.”

But the protestors believe the teens.

“These young teenagers should be applauded by the entire community for the very unusual action of reporting sexual abuse soon after it happened,” Hoatson said. “Most children can’t speak about sexual abuse until many years later.”

The teens first made their claim of abuse to officials at the Diocese of Brooklyn who, after their own investigation, removed Brady, who continued to live at the church rectory since retiring in 2009, from the Marine Park parish and forwarded its findings to District Attorney Charles Hynes, who charged Brady with attempting a “criminal sex act” before handing the case over to Staten Island District Attorney Dan Donovan. Brady was released on $2,000 bond.

A DA spokesman said Hynes couldn’t take the case since he and Brady are “longtime acquaintances.”

Diocese spokeswoman Stefanie Gutierrez said Brady will not be able to say mass or administer sacraments.

This week’s “Shepherd’s Staff,” the church’s bulletin, included a note from Bishop Nicholas DiMarizio, explaining Brady’s arrest, and encouraging anyone who had been a victim of sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy as a minor to report it via a toll-free telephone number.

Some Good Shepherd parishioners say they’ll continue to support Brady, who was still listed as parish’s pastor emeritus in the weekly bulletin, but hope that the protestors don’t return.

“[The protestors] being here is like pouring salt in our wounds,” said one parishioner, who wished not to give her name. “If they want to support the children they can do so privately and on their own time.”

Another parishioner took a different approach.

“People have a right to protest, even if it’s against the monsignor,” said Marion Orleman. “We gotta pray for them.”

Reader Feedback

JeannieGuzman says:

Regarding those dear, Catholic parishioners, who yelled at and persecuted the demonstrators: Their is such a thing as a "Pre-Vatican II Catholic Mindset!" It can be compared to a "Neanderthal Catholic Mindset," presuming that if given the opportunity, many Neanderthals would have gladly joined in the party (i.e. the RCC), without engaging their minds and senses of "Social Justice," not even speaking of "Spiritual Justice and Discernment!" I grew up in such an environment, where anything that a holy priest, bishop, cardinal or Pope said was the SAME as "Gospel Truth!" I hope that the camcorders were rolling. It would be an example of "Social Justice," to view those harassing the demonstrators on Youtube!

Oct. 24, 2011, 11:33 am

JuneAnnette says:

JeannieGuzman is so right. This is a shameful display of anti-Christian behaviour on the part of those who claim their "church" is the One True Church of Jesus Christ. It seems implausible to me at this late day, that multitudes of Roman Catholics are willing to ignore the abundant and compelling evidence regarding the systematic abuse of children across the globe by the Roman Catholic “church”, that unarguably and categorically proves the “church” of which they are members is not guided by the Holy Spirit, neither the “one true church” built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, of which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone and only head.(Eph. 2:20; Eph. 5:23) So blinded are they by their inbred institutional loyalty they find themselves unable to act rationally in the face of the painful realities with which they are now confronted which compels them to leave, but choose instead to remain tethered to a church that is utterly devoid of any moral or spiritual credibility. “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”(Eph. 5:9) In place of goodness, there is gross immorality and unchecked vice . . all that is evil; in place of righteousness, there is widespread corruption; in place of truth, there is mental reservation . . deceit and lies. As it is written . . “spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Eph. 6:12) May the Lord yet be pleased to grant those who are so blinded, the courage to renounce the counterfeit religion of Rome, that they may by God’s grace, wholeheartedly embrace the religion of Christ and serve HIM in sincerity and in truth.“. . . Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:4)

In solidarity with the Victims of Roman Catholic Clergy Abuse, I am

JuneAnnette, a Christian by God's grace

Oct. 24, 2011, 11:52 am

Hugh Blair from Northern Ireland says:

I was abused at the age of nine by members of this evel church.My Mother and the rest of the family stood up for the church believing their lies that they would burn in hell forever if I ever told anyone about my abuse. This was over fourty years ago. Many people have asked me why I attack the church and what do I want out of this. I'll tell you what I am,And what I want. I am not a victim,but A survivor,and like all survivors all over the world,I want the church to take responsibility for their lack of action against the abusers within the church,I want the church to bring these abusers to account.I want the church to ultimately take a stand for the abused,not the abusers.There should be no hidding place for abusers within the church. The problem now with the church is the denial and the cover-up to protect the bishops and other priests(and nuns) who turned a blind eye to the sufferings of the Abused children and let us make no mistake about it, it was pure Abuse.

My whole family(And there is 11 of us)won't even speak to me or my wife and kids,because of my speaking out about my abuse and the lack of action from the church. I've had 70 to 80 year-old women,who belonged to the chapel that I went too,spit in my face for bringing my abuse to light and condemning the church for not taken action against these evil abusers within it. And,'NO'This did not happen 40 years ago,this was only A few months ago. This is how far some people within the church will go to defend it.

Oct. 24, 2011, 1:10 pm

Dezsi from South Africa says:

the RCC has been avoiding taking responsibility for their priests sexual actions for centuries and that won't change, and the majority of catholics are unfortunately so indoctrinated from early childhood by this heretical church which claims to be the only true church yet over and over again it is proven by their intensive track record that they are EVERYTHING but Godly. They are despicable in their behaviour and why are their parshioners so slow in believing that their precious church can do no wrong, because as the RCC has stated for centuries, give them a child for the first seven years of that child's life and they are indoctrinated for life. Unless a true miracle from the LORD of repentance and redemption and the power of the baptism of the Holy Spirit sets them free and leads them out of the catholic faith. The RCC is the ''whore of Babylon' mentioned in the Book of Revelation' and billions of Catholics will find themselves in HELL once they die with no idea how they ended up there

Oct. 24, 2011, 3:44 pm

Ann from Marine Park says:

Whatever happened to "Innocent until proven guilty"? Catholics are not brainwashed and we do not ignore or condone abuse by the clergy. But you do not know this man. After 50 years of serving the church without a hint of anything of this kind...then suffering 2 strokes, lung cancer & chemo & dementia - at the age of almost 80 - he apparently decides to begin a new career of child abuse?? I don't buy it.

Oct. 24, 2011, 3:44 pm

Cece from Formerly of Governor's Island says:

No offense, but people accusing "the Church" of brainwashing need to take a good look at theirselves. They contribute nothing but bad vibes. They are in love with themselves and have a touch of exhibition in them (and some, more than a touch). They criticize the priests for that which they themselves openly support, even push on society. I think there is something psychologically wrong with them, and their nastiness and filthy mouths are evidence of it.

Oct. 25, 2011, 9:19 am

Bob from Northern NYS says:

I agree with Ann. While there are legitimate cases of child abuse by the clergy over the years, it must also be be known that in some cases it was all about money and how much the so called victims could expect to get from the church. Also in some cases, priests were falsely accused because someone was angry at the church or priest for their own reasons and used the "child abuse" situation to get back at one or the other.

Oct. 25, 2011, 9:38 am

Rose from Gerritsen Beach says:

-"Unless a true miracle from the LORD of repentance and redemption and the power of the baptism of the Holy Spirit sets them free"....

Where did you learn this? From Methodists, Lutherans, Evangelicals, Episcopalians, Anglicans, Jehovah's Witnesses? Bet you all learned it from the one who started it all - "The Catholic Church." All of these institutional spin-offs of the Catholic Church contains a wonderful assortment of that which you all disdain - only you can't see it before your very eyes... Stop picking the specks out of Catholic eyes and remove the logs from your own...

The Catholic church will always be a target, cause no matter what corruption finds it way in, the truth will still shine through it. Run past the corruption you think you see and head straight for the altar to see the guy you came for - God - Jesus... - like the rest of these religions do.....

Oct. 25, 2011, 12:04 pm

Mark Paul from GA says:

Wake up, everybody !!! Attacking the RCC parishoners for things that are happening all around you isn't helping solve the problem. It may make you feel better, because you are actually trying to help the victims however they can with their ministry to the abuse victims, which I, as a convert and a self-described " Recovering Anti-Catholic" applaud, but don't attack the parishoners.

They actually DO belong to the one true Church, which Jesus founded, and as Americans, have a right to believe anything they want. You can't presume to know these people, and how their lives pan out, or even where they will go after death, so please...STOP!!!

Now, if you want to really have an effect on the larger culture, you can go picket a strip club, porn shop or a Planned Parenthood facility. Or minister to the many who are addicted to porn. Find out about the connection between condom use and promiscuity and marital breakdown. Learn about the link between abortion and breast cancer.

Here's another idea: When you find a perfect church, with members who are perfect....join it. But remember, in joining it, you are committing yourself to the highest standards possible, and you may just be ruining it by joining it. Good luck with your quest. And how many churches has it been so far? Four, six, ten? Still haven't found it?

Keep looking.

Oct. 25, 2011, 12:15 pm

Tony from Texas says:

If these people are so committed to supporting victims of child abuse, why don’t they go after public schools? Child sexual abuse occurs far more often there than ever at the RCC. And for the people complaining about how the parishioners handled this matter, what were the parishioners supposed to do? I guess in the minds of these people, a good Christian must simply stand by and take insults to someone they have depended on for years. That is no to say that I condone the actions of some of these parishioners, but to say that they are supposed to be rugs to be walked on is ridiculous. I feel that this whole thing is a money making scheme by trying to frame an 80 year old man on his last legs.

Oct. 25, 2011, 12:17 pm

Mtxun from TEXAS says:

Soon, anti-Catholics, SOON, you will see and UNDERSTAND where salvation comes from . . . from God, through Christ, In CONJUCTION with MARY, via the CATHOLIC CHURCH. Be ready!

Oct. 25, 2011, 1:17 pm

Diane from Ohio says:

Why was "Road to Recovery picketing outside the Church building? I think they would be more effective outside a court room. What ever happened to "innocent until proven guilty"? The police and criminal justice sysem should be handling this, not protesters. Also these protesters should have called the police about that matter, not stood outside the parish and harassed innocent parishioners by their presence. The parishioners are hardly to blame if the priest actually did that. What are those protesters trying to do, agitate the faithful and good parishioners in order to start some kind of revolution against the Church? Not going to happen. We love the Church and the Church is much more than 1 priest and what he might have done.

Oct. 25, 2011, 1:37 pm

Tanya from South Carolina says:

I agree with Ann too. And Bob. People need to be careful about accusations, a lot of innocent lives have been ruined because of public accusations.

Oct. 25, 2011, 1:56 pm

Mel Collinson from United Kingdom says:

Is the Catholic Church the only church in the world that has child sex abuse? Is there not child sex abuse in some homes? What about sex abuse in young offenders institutions? Come on, Jesus Christ is our redeemer, he loves us all but not the sin.

Oct. 25, 2011, 3:13 pm

Garry from Cornwall says:

It may take many lifetimes, but after exploring all the attractive and irresistible wrong paths to no lasting avail or happiness, our intuition finally guides us back to the Father each in our own time, religion or none. If you think this is crackpot philosophy, ask yourself next time you see a particularly intelligent, attractive, polite, benevolent and compassionate person, "Now why can't everyone be this way?" Would it stand to reason to consider that the spirit of such a person is simply more evolved... that it has lived perhaps hundreds of past lives on earth to at last become the pure gold that it is. Such a person is ready for a new and different world to be with others more like itself. Would it be so difficult for us to put aside our differences and suspicions- religious and otherwise, and concentrate more on becoming more caring individuals. Surely that is the path...

Oct. 25, 2011, 6:25 pm

Janet from Marine Park says:

This is my parish. First let me say, I find it highly unlikely that this may have happened, however that is not up to me to decide, What I do know is that these protesters are way off base. They did not come to support anyone or anything but their own agenda. What was the point of coming to the parish on Sunday, but to cause a problem. We are going to Church, we do not wish to be bothered by protested outside of Church on Sunday morning. All they did was harass innocent parishioners by their presence. Perhaps if they were truly worried about these children, they would be inside the Church praying for the children, and if they followed the teaching of their faith, they would be praying for the priest also. Perhaps before they protest the next time, they should review what their faith has taught them.

Oct. 25, 2011, 8:59 pm

Gospa from Florida says:

Sadly there are too many priests that are falsely accused and they have to suffer the consequences of the false accusation. My former pastor was falsely accused and he had to take early retirement because more accusations were coming against him. It was known by most of our parishoners that he was innocent, however, those who were out to get him won.Everyone is "down" on Catholic priests, yet other denominational leaders and other people that work with children have been proven to have more cases of abuse, per capita, than the Catholic church.

Oct. 25, 2011, 10:11 pm

Mary Lou from MN says:

Hugh Blair from Northern Ireland states: "I was abused at age nine by members of this evel church. ...This was over fourty years ago. ... Many people asked me why I attack the church. ....my whole family won't even speak to me or my wife. ... And 'NO', This did not happen 40 years ago, this was only a few months ago." So, were you 9 years old "a few months ago"? or 40 years ago? What a confusing tale.

Oct. 26, 2011, 2:01 am

JuneAnnette from Ohio says:

Mary Lou from MN says:

"So, were you 9 years old "a few months ago"? or 40 years ago?What a confusing tale."********Let me clarify the matter for you:

- He was 9 years old when he was abused.- He was spit at by old women a few months ago.******I thought his post was plain enough:

"I've had 70 to 80 year-old women,who belonged to the chapel that I went too,spit in my face for bringing my abuse to light and condemning the church for not taken action against these evil abusers within it. And,'NO'This did not happen 40 years ago,this was only A few months ago.This is how far some people within the church will go to defend it."

In solidarity with the Victims of Roman Catholic Clergy Abuse,

JuneAnnette

Oct. 26, 2011, 12:11 pm

JuneAnnette from Ohio says:

“They want to say their priest would never do such a thing, but they forget that two 13-year-old boys were involved,” said Rev. Robert Hoatson. “I don’t blame [the parishioners], I blame the brainwashing the church has done over the centuries.”******Rev. Hoatson is absolutely right!

Those who have sought to hold the RC "church" accountable, both within and without, and who have pressed for true reform vis a vis the matter of mandatory reporting of allegations of sex abuse of minors must go further and examine the root of the problem which lies in Canon law. Until Canon law is uprooted, there will be more revelations of cover-ups and more heinous abuses of children by clergy.

So long as the self-serving policies of the Roman Catholic “church” are in force which have been implemented to protect the church and designed to deter any criticism of any kind by “the faithful” of the church hierarchy, these crimes will persist. At its' very heart, this is anti-Christian!The welfare and well-being of children must not be sacrificed on the altar of self-preservation. I am a former Roman Catholic, and as such, am at liberty to speak freely in these matters. Speaking out in the face of such evil is a moral imperative!

Consider the words of Richard Sipe:

Article: PEDOPHILIA & CELIBACY/March 18, 2010

Link: http://www.richardsipe.com/Mis...

· Mental Reservation can be used as a justification of what an ordinary person would label anoutright lie; bishops consider the law of the Church to supercede civil laws and that the oath of obedience to the pope and the Church is superior to any mundane demand. Multiple depositions of cardinals and bishops demonstrate this maneuver—black on white courtdocuments.[9]

Oct. 26, 2011, 2:50 pm

Francis from Vermont says:

I agree with Ann: Innovent until proven guilty. I also agree with Mark Paul from GA that there are many issues worth protesting like abortion and pornography. And some of the comments above are truly crazy. The protestors may believe that they have a holy cause but many of them refuse to believe that the Catholic Church has done anything about this problem. But the statistics do not lie. The numbers of reported cases that have occured since 2004 in the U.S. are less than 10 a year. Since 2004, there are many more reported cases than that, upwards of 400 per year, but these are for pre 2004 cases and mostly in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. A graph from the John Jay report indicates a dramatic drop beginning around 1982 or 1983 in numbers of abuse reports as the policies instituted by bishops in the 1970s started to take effect. Note also that insurers have reported that Protestant Churches have the same level of problem. And this does not even mention public schools.

Oct. 28, 2011, 10:02 pm

Francis from Vermont says:

As an abuse victim myself, I am heartened by all the Church has done including tightening admission standards, removing offenders from ministry, defrocking as many offenders as possible, enacting zero tolerance standards and mandatory reporting. The priest who assaulted me was defrocked and I am grateful. I did not sue the Church. In California one investigator was hired to give lie detector tests to priests and accusers. Many accusers failed. Many accused priests passed. I hope they give such tests to Msgr Brady and the accusers to help sort this out. If the accusers refuse, then what would that say?

Oct. 28, 2011, 10:03 pm

JuneAnnette from Ohio says:

FACT CHECK:The Roman Catholic “church” has done more to cover up the abuse of children by their clerics than any other institution you care to name.

“Over two-thirds of the U.S. bishops have knowingly covered sexual abusers and in so doing have directly caused the ruination of the souls and often the bodies of countless more victims. The almighty Vatican, for all its carefully tooled statements of concern has not called a single bishop to accountability. A few have resigned but so what? They have committed crimes with impunity. Why? Because they are bishops and in the magical thinking of the papacy, bishopsare above hard-ball justice. Some bishops have even been sexual abusers themselves. None have been defrocked. I have seen consistent, hard evidence of a radical disconnect between the mandate of Christ in the Gospel in reference to such matters, and the actual actions of the bishops and the popes. In short, the popes (JP2 and Benedict XVI) and the bishops have not acted as Christians but rather as agnostic, self-serving businessmen.”

Source / Article: Reflections from 25 Years of Experience At the Start of the New YearThomas Doyle, J.C.D. / January 1, 2010

Name one other entity that employs the concept of “religious duress” to insure that allegations of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest are not made public and that intimidates those over which she exerts authority to remain SILENT!

Thomas Doyle's important affidavit puts the documents and events of Davenport in a national context“26. [sic] The concept of religious duress, already mentioned in this document, is a force that is clearly active and highly influential in Catholic clergy sex abuse cases. It severely impacts the victims, their family members, especially parents and the Catholic community in general. Catholic victims often are petrified with fear which is a result of their indoctrination as well as the words and actions of their perpetrators. They fear severe spiritual or even physical consequences for disclosing a clergy abuser. Catholics have been taught that priests take the place of Jesus Christ. Because of this deeply ingrained belief, erroneous though it may be, youthful victims and their parents have regularly been paralyzed by fear and have remained silent about clergy sex abuse. The recent publicity given to clergy sex abuse has been instrumental in freeing some victims from the clenches of this intense fear and has allowed them to come forward even though their disclosures may come many years after the actual abuse. The victims' family members are influenced because they often have either refused to believe the victims or have refused to disclose the abuse for fear of divine retribution. The community at large has been influenced because at times victims and their families have been ostracized for speaking out against priest abusers. At other times and more often, significant numbers of the Catholic laity have provided support to accused priests and refused to believe accusations of abuse.”

After reviewing JuneAnnette's post, I am glad that my experience in the Diocese of Burlington (Vermont) has not been like that. Various priests and the Chancellor have been very solicitous in offering any help that I need as a victim and I have felt no pressure to keep silent.

Oct. 29, 2011, 11:54 pm

Francis from Vermont says:

When the "storm" broke in 2002 - 2003, the local paper revealed that there were 6 priests in public ministry who were cause for concern. One was soon exonerated. Another retired after it became known he had an affair with someone he had groomed until he had come of age, etc. The big offenders had long been defrocked or suspended and then later defrocked. Granted that Bishop Marshall transferred at least a couple of abuser priests instead of immediately suspending them and turning them over to the police. However he eventually suspended them and defrocked the worst. Another was defrocked later. However, because Bishop Marshall was too slow to remove priests the 1970s and 1980s, the Diocese has been successfully sued by quite a few people mostly because of one priest who apparently abused more than 20 children. Since that time, the Diocese of Burlington has reacted with increasing swiftness and with the rules adopted by the Bishops in 2004, I think there was one incident of abuse in Vermont and of course that priest was removed from ministry and turned over to the police. We obviously wish we could undo the past but we cannot. It seems in Vermont the Diocese has changed behavior by removing offending priests, reporting them to police, and listening and offering help to victims.

Oct. 29, 2011, 11:54 pm

JuneAnnette from Ohio says:

Francis, with all due respect, the RC Clergy Abuse Scandal cannot be honestly addressed and/or assessed by limiting your observations within your own diocese.

Surely you can see the inherent conflict of interest that is represented in the mandatory reporting guidelines regarding allegations of clergy sexual abuse established by the Bishops and the vows of silence priests, bishops, and cardinals are obliged to take which by way of implication, discourages such reporting in the interest of the church? ?

As Richard Sipe states: 36. Secrecy is an unwritten but clear code within the clerical system. The clerical system often extends its prerogative of sacramental confessional confidentiality beyond law or reason to include any material it wishes to keep secret to preserve its image and at times for its convenience. A bishop responded, "I only lie when I have to" when chided by a priest for denying abuse that the bishop knew about. That modus operendi and justification for deception is common. This rationalization is often justified by the traditional moral doctrine of Mental Reservation. Literally this means that one does not have responsibility to tell the truth to one who does not have a right to it. The motivation to save the reputation of the church and the priesthood from scandal has been paramount since the Protestant Reformation. Caution about scandal is frequent in canon law (29 times). The dictum "not to give scandal" is impressed upon students in Catholic education as early as the first grade.

37 Cardinals make a vow to the Pope to keep secret anything confided to them that if revealed would cause harm or dishonor to the church. ["I vow…not to reveal to anyone what is confided to me in secret, nor to divulge what may bring harm or dishonor to Holy Church"] That promise of secrecy forms a template within the clerical system to keep internal scandalous behavior under wraps, "for the good of the Church." Another moral teaching of Catholic theology is “Mental Reservation.” Father B. U. Gormless, S.J., defines mental reservation as “an unspoken intention to limit one’s compliance with a contract one is overtly entering into.” This moral doctrine has also been employed to “deny the whole truth” to those who have no right to it or to avoid “greater harm.”

Source / Article: AN OVERVIEW OF THE SYSTEM OF SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND ABUSE WITHIN THE CLERICAL CULTURE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE USA**********It would appear that the bishops are speaking out of both sides of their mouth. Not surprising in that it is they who contrived the clever tactic of mental reservation to avoid telling the truth.

As I have already said . . until Canon law is uprooted, there will be more revelations of cover-ups of the despicable crime of abuse of children by clergy.

Oct. 30, 2011, 2:05 pm

JuneAnnette from Ohio says:

Francis, by way of a postscript to my most recent comment, I have some additional thoughts that I would like to share with you . . .

The contradictions which I have pointed out below do little to engender trust or inspire confidence and must be met with an appropriate measure of skepticism.

Recent pending cases in both the Philadelphia and Kansas City Diocese bear this out and seriously call into the question the level of commitment and resolve of the bishops to fully and unreservedly comply with the mandatory reporting guidelines adopted by the USCCB in 2002.SECRECY is altogether inconsistent with accountability and transperency and the well-being and welfare of children must not be subordinated to the preservation of an institution.

Roman Catholic Nun, Maureen Paul Turlish, has expressed some of the very same concerns in her timely commentary today:

She writes:

“It has been almost 10 years since the bishops of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States mandated accountability and transparency in regard to the sexual abuse of children, but how that accountability and transparency was defined was ultimately left up to individual bishops, as was their application.

Truly independent oversight by a group of bishops who did not think it necessary to hold themselves to the same sanctions they placed on priests continues to be essentially nonexistent. Diocesan review boards set up to investigate those accused of inappropriate or questionable behavior serve at a bishop's pleasure, and he alone decides whether or not to follow their recommendations.

Review board decisions are not binding on bishops, and board members themselves have no way of knowing whether they have received all the information a diocese has on an individual priest's questionable behavior. Diocesan review boards, moreover, do not necessarily investigate all those accused or removed from ministry.

This has played out time and time again since 2002, as bishops across the country have decided not to follow the USCCB's mandates but rather have spent years and millions of dollars fighting the court-ordered release of documents, files and records, keeping depositions sealed, avoiding having to testify in civil court cases by filing for the federal protections of a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy and challenging state court decisions right up to the U.S. Supreme Court.

While no bishop in the United States has ever been held criminally responsible for facilitating or enabling the sexual exploitation of a child, they have cut deals to avoid prosecution in a number of jurisdictions. Bishops have left known sexual predators in ministry, transferred them around a diocese, to other dioceses and even out of the country in attempts to protect a religious institution's image rather than the children, who are its most vulnerable members and about whom Jesus speaks so often in the gospels.”

(Maureen Paul Turlish is a Sister of Notre Dame de Namur, an advocate for legislative reform and a member of the coalition Justice4PaKids.com]

Her entire commentary can be read here: http://ncronline.org/blogs/examining-crisis/accountability-transparency-and-bishops

JuneAnnette, a Christian & former Roman Catholic

Oct. 31, 2011, 12:23 pm

JuneAnnette from Ohio says:

Recently I encountered these comments at a related article regarding the Roman Catholic Clergy Abuse SCANDAL:

"Why are not pedophile priests held criminally liable and sent to jail? . . . Why haven't more Bishops served time in prison for failing to report a pedophile priest? Because the Bishops have successfully run out the statute of limitations on reporting, usually less than 3 years in most states after the crime has been committed.. . . Why aren't we having a honest discussion of this????"

These indeed are the burning questions.Perhaps we've all been operating under the misguided notion that all are equal under the law. Perhaps there is a privileged class of citizens after all. Perhaps therein lies the answer!

“In the sexual abuse crisis, attention has focused on priests who have sexually abused children; the problem of bishops and major superiors who abuse has not received systematic scrutiny. Yet a bishop who is guilty of child abuse, or who has other violations of celibacy to conceal, has compromised his role in the formation of his priests and in assigning them properly. Bishops who sexually abuse seminarians, as Anthony J. O'Connell has admitted doing, may establish a generational pattern of clergy abuse. The following list includes 22 U.S. bishops who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors. We have also provided a preliminary list of 9 bishops accused of sexual misconduct in other countries.The following list includes 22 U.S. bishops who have been publicly accused of sexually abusing minors. We have also provided a preliminary list of 9 bishops accused of sexual misconduct in other countries. Arzube, Brown, Dudley, Dupré, Ferrario, Gelineau, Harrington, Hart, Hubbard, O'Connell, Rausch, Rueger, Ryan, Sanchez, Skylstad, Soens, James S. Sullivan, Joseph V. Sullivan, Symons, Weldon, Williams, Ziemann***Preliminary List International Cases of Bishops Accused of Sexual Misconduct• Archbishop Richard A. Burke, S.P.S. (Ireland and Nigeria)• Cardinal Hans H. Groër, O.S.B. (Austria)• Bishop Raymond J. Lahey (Canada)• Bishop John Magee, S.P.S. (Ireland)• Bishop Georg Müller, SS.CC. (Norway)• Bishop Hubert P. O’Connor, O.M.I. (Canada)• Archbishop Juliusz Paetz (Poland)• Archbishop Edgardo G. Storni (Argentina)• Bishop Roger J. Vangheluwe (Belgium)”

As Thomas Patrick Doyle has rightly said:“They have committed crimes with impunity.”

You can view the specific charges brought against these bishops here:Link: http://www.bishop-accountability.org/bishops/accused/

JuneAnnette, a Christian & former Roman Catholic

Nov. 1, 2011, 12:47 pm

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